My Vocal Top 5

Last Updated: 4/11/2024

A Bold New Vision**

Like many Vocal creators, I often look at my profile and the pieces contained within only to see potential chaos for a new reader. One story I depict a Delta Force operator going insane in the desert, the next article I’m trying to divine the reading habits of fellow writers and whether they find themselves more loyal to an author or a genre (only to discover the two are often synonymous since authors tend to find a groove and stick to it).

Of course, this chaos is partially due to the variety of challenges offered by the platform. Us experienced Vocalites know how to read between the lines and identify challenge entries in their natural habitat, but imagine the new reader who doesn’t have this kind of background.

Not to mention, think of that user experience. You walk into a new restaurant, no prior visits to lean on. You are then presented with a menu of 90* items with no accompanying categories, leaving you to read through each line by line to decide what you want.

You’d be exhausted by the time you hit #20. Instead of truly finding the best item for you, you’ll probably just pick something from that sampling for the sake of avoiding the mental overload of reading the full list.

Unfortunately, we don’t have great ways to add categories into our Vocal profile pages. Yes, I’m aware that the user is able to filter by Community. But 1) how prominent is that filter bar with so much other noise on the page, especially thumbnails that are always going to draw the eye versus a button with a black outline and black text, and 2) I’m not sure every one of these labels would make sense to a first-time user.

Case in point: I’m still not 100% sure what FYI is about, and I’ve been here for 3-ish* years now.

And the ability to sort the articles? Almost as useless, though certainly more familiar to the Vocal beginner.

Pinning stories is another option that lets us raise stories out of the raging torrent of content below, but we’re limited to 3 stories, which could be limiting for someone with a large catalog or those of us (me) who prefer multiples of 5.

Let’s return to the 90* item menu. Imagine seeing a Chef’s Recommendations list above the full menu? Now you can see what the creator considers their greatest dishes. It still might not always present a perfect match to what you’re looking for, but at least you can parse through a much smaller list before turning to the full list. Plus, these recommendations come with additional context and details around the dishes to help you make a more informed decision.

That’s the idea of this post.

Background

We’ve seen a lot of Library posts making it to the front page lately, and it got me thinking how I might apply that idea to my own content portfolio. However, I kept running into a mental block: who wants to parse through a list of all 90* stories/articles from yours truly? Much less read all 90* said pieces.

Besides, how helpful is it really to have a list without any context as to what the stories are about? But to go through and add summaries for each article and story would take hours***.

I don’t have that kind of time. You don’t have that kind of time. So let’s try a different way.

Below, I offer a curated list of what I consider my best stories on Vocal. Given my writing aspirations, I ignored my non-fiction articles for this one, not because I think there isn’t value in those pieces, but because I’m trying to cut my teeth with novels and short stories. Non-fiction is an extra offering.

I also excluded any pieces that have already won accolades—for the most part. Again, not because I think there’s a quality issue, but because those will always be accessible through the Achievements section and pinned stories. Plus, that typically means they’ve already gotten some attention. The goal here is to help get some other pieces their due.

Disclaimers

*as of today (see Last Updated date)

**because not a single other Vocal creator has ever had this idea before. I’m the first, and we all know it. Excuse me while I go submit a patent application.

***not to mention, then I’d create the expectation I’m actually going into my hypothetical library after every new piece goes live to add it to the queue. Which, while that thought did make me chuckle, I’m happy leaving that constant archiving to the Vocal librarians.

Okay, with our disclaimers now sorted, time to get serious.

King of the World

Genre: Post-apocalyptic

Happy Ending?: Nah, it’s sad, man.

The original Vocal story. The progenitor. My baby.

Don’t worry, I’m not including this one simply because of the nostalgia factor.

“King of the World” is a tale of survival on the plains of America post-nuclear attack. As Amy picks her way through an overgrown wheat field, rifle in hand, she reflects on the past months since “the second dawn lit up the sky.”

I love this one because it’s also the first time I deployed a new short story format. One where the focus is equally on the present as it is on the past that placed Amy in this barren wasteland in the first place. It’s a great way to deliver exposition while keeping the plot moving forward and tends to produce tight, concise pieces that fare better in online formats.

Plus, I deploy another storytelling tactic I very much enjoy: the delayed reveal. We see the facts: Amy is walking through a wheat field, armed without a second thought and complaining about how she’s unable to find a good pair of boots. But the why takes shape through context clues.

Only deeper into the story does the reader start to realize what happened to turn the world so upside down that this has become our protagonist’s new normal.

Outside Mission Parameters

Genre: Historical fiction thriller (I think? This one is tricky)

Happy Ending?: One of the most somber things I’ve ever written.

My third piece ever written for Vocal, and another classic use of “tension through the delayed reveal” tactic pioneered in “King of the World.” I’ve always had a fascination for space, and as a consequence, a fascination with space disasters.

Since the reveal is a huge point for “Outside Mission Parameters,” I won’t go into as much detail on this one. However, the outer space historian might be able to deduce the subject of this story between the paragraph above and the thumbnail below. (Now realizing the thumbnail undercuts the big reveal a bit 😅)

Ah, but which space shuttle accident does this story follow from the flight deck (and present a possible version of events since we don’t know what actually occurred)? Read on to find out.

SEALAB IV

Genre: Horror

Happy Ending?: Absolutely not.

Disclaimer: Written several months before the Titan submersible reignited all our fears of the ocean’s depths, though you could be forgiven for thinking this story was inspired by that tragedy.

This story still terrifies me despite me being the one who came up with the plot in the first place. Something about the depths of the ocean evokes the same feelings as that of the vacuum of space: a cold void alien to life—at least for us air breathers.

“SEALAB IV” is based on the real-life SEALAB projects and is a fictional continuation of the underwater laboratory, this time located in the crushing depths off the coast of Antarctica. As one of the Navy divers ventures from the base in a pressure suit to assess a sensor outage at the edge of the Pacific-Antarctic Trench, no one is aware the cause is lying in wait. That cause? An undiscovered deepwater species whose greatest threat is not its size or speed, but its intelligence.

Truly some of the finest horror writing I’ve done to date, and this is coming from a card-carrying member of the Horror Writers Association. I pay $79 a year to maintain that membership. Why? Well…

Just to drop that line on people, now that I really think about it. It sounds cool, I guess?

Dick Winchester in… The Box with No Name

Genre: Combination humor and neo-noir

Happy Ending?: From his perspective, anyway.

Unlike most of these, I actually have a pitch for this one written out already, so I’ll put my feet up and let past Stephen take the reins:

Join Dick Winchester on his debut adventure when a package arrives on his front door. No name, no return address, and only the dim outline of an Amazon drone rising into the sky. As the box starts ticking in his hands, will Dick solve the mystery of what the package holds in time?

This story is truly unique. Not because of the humor element after the very somber/terrifying stories presented previously (see next entry for additional humor), but because the premise is so zany. Take the smoke-wreathed detective of the 1940s radio serial ala Sam Smith and then dump him in the modern age, and you might get something like our protagonist Dick Winchester. He is a self-described man of action who lives by his own rules, drinks to excess, and never strays far from his gun as he battles for dominance in the Arlington, Virginia online food delivery business.

This gonzo premise is one of the many reasons I will take my Dick Winchester stories and produce a book series someday.

It is also one of the funniest stories I’ve ever written, even compared to other Dick Winchester and Martin Williams adventures (seriously, see next entry already).

Sinking Prospects

Genre: Combination humor, historical fiction, and hitman (yes, “hitman” is a genre now)

Happy Ending?: From his perspective, anyway.

Clear your mind of Dick Winchester and now turn your attention to Martin Williams, a man of action who lives outside the law, smokes to excess, and is always quick to shoot his way out of a problem. Completely different character.

Selfishly, I had to include the starting points for both my character series. Here, I have double incentive because there is a Martin Williams book on the horizon. Get hyped.

However, there is a reason that “The Box with No Name” and “Sinking Prospects” inspired series. Both characters kicked down the door and refused to leave my head. In this one, Martin finds himself aboard RMS Titanic with one job: ensure a fellow passenger never makes it to New York City.

However, little has gone to plan, and that the ship is now sliding into the deep is only the latest inconvenience for Martin. Another person might have seen the sinking as fortuitous; the target now likely won’t make it to New York City without requiring any intervention from the protagonist. But Martin is a professional, and professionals leave nothing to chance.

In Conclusion

So there you go. I’ve saved you hours of reading through the chaff and led you straight to the thickest, juiciest steaks in the meat locker. You’re welcome.

Now I just need to decide which of my pins I’m sacrificing to give this signpost a permanent place of prominence.

And thanks so much for reading and participating in this bold new vision! Perhaps there will be a whole new batch of posts inspired by this novel approach making it to the front page, all crediting me for this fortuitous breakthrough 😊